IE8 AWESOME mod!!!!

I'm going to make this post pretty short even though its a mod. I was having a bit of trouble achieving really good isolation with these IEMs. It wasn't just that the tips didn't fit me right, its also because unlike the typical IEM, these don't really enter your ear canal.

I did some thinking about how to achieve better isolation. I came up with what I feel is a very simple and effective solution, and it actually made the monitors sound considerably better in the process. (better meaning less grainy).

This is all I did:

Step 1: I took out a pair of Shure Olive Foams. I chose large size for me especially since they are not really entering the canal.....if your ears are really small then maybe medium will work better for ya.

Step 2: I "cored" the plastic center out of the Olive foam. I was able to do this by screwing the sleeve onto an old 1/8 inch headphone jack and just pulling the olive foam off. The plastic center eventually separates from the Foam itself, but the foam SHOULD remain intact.

Step 3: The foam will temporarilly look deformed for a few minutes. But it will come back to its normal self. Once it does.......screw it gently onto the appropriate place on the IE8.

Step 4.....BEFORE putting it in your ear compress the foam with your fingers. This is especially important and effective because the foam no longer has the plastic center and therefore will easily fit your ear.

Step 5: After putting it your ear, hold the monitor there for about 10 seconds till the foam expands. Don't expect the monitor to enter your ear canal like it does with armature driver IEMs.

Step 6: Enjoy the IE8s with superior isolation now and better seal. The sound will have more of a clear centered midrange and less grain around 8Khz...........I suspect this is what the IEMs are supposed to sound like when fitting the ear 100 percent.


I will attempt to take pictures tomorrow.

-Dave

well actually when using my shure monitors I never feel the need to compress the foams. But even still when using the IE8 that's essential because you're not putting it in the canal.

It doesn't get any bassier, but the low mids blossom a bit and the edges of the highs are tamed.

Well I'll be honest, it shouldn't be a turn off AT ALL.....because.....you can still acheive the same isolation AND the fact that its not in your ear canal allows for a very open listening experience, much like regular full sized headphones. The soundstage I believe is drastically affected by this principle.

I find the ergonomic design of the IE8 to be almost ingenious, however the tips leave more to be desired for.

Another foam worth trying that really worked equally well (maybe better?) is the yellow foam that comes with the E500.

I would definitely say I'm gettin at least 20db Isolation with that.

The IE8 is a GREAT purchase......I'm venturing to say at this point that once a seal is acheived it is better than the W3 (which I also have)........both are great.

To answer your question about how the IE8 bests the Westone 3s........

It's VERY subjective because they're both so darn good. They have incredibly different sound signatures, but the advantage the IE8 has is simply this:

The W3, Triple Fis, SE530s, UE10, ER4P, UM2..........all have some sort of similarity, I cannot express it except that there is a lack of air, natural air that I experience with full size headphones................the timbre of the UE10 is about the best I've heard on any headphone and it even rivals my 2 pairs of R10s (bass light and bass heavy), but due to this lack of air, it does not possess nearly the amount of transparency where your brain recognizes the sound as real rather than electronic duplication. This is where the R10s best any headphone I've ever heard. Forgetting about whether you like a dark sound, bright sound, neutral sound.....there is no doubt that your brain will interpret the R10s as very natural and transparent even if the frequency response of the R10s is not what you look for in your listening tastes.....

This is where I come in and say that the IE8 has a naturalness (maybe its the dynamic drivers), but it possesses a naturalness that I have NEVER even come close to hearing on an IEM, or even a full size headphone for under 150 dollars. I find that the IE8 has a very similar sound to the AKG K701 but with a significant improvement in the bass response.....almost as if it handles the lows like HD600, and the mids and highs like a K701......this is really beautiful. It's not nearly as transparent as a full size first class headphone, no, but its truly on a different plain than any other IEM I've heard. I'd like to say that I don't think its solely the difference between dynamic and armature drivers because I also own the Sony X700 and I don't think that those possess a naturalness nearly as much as the IE8.

My listening preference with the IE8 is, if the recording is well mastered and recorded, I listen with bass response all the way down........

The IE8 shine with anything, but I have to give it kudos for it's ability to handle classical music better than any other IEM for sure. Classical music is often where IEMs fall apart. The passages are so detailed and the dynamics so varied and timbral qualities of 100 different instruments playing at once......most IEMs can't do this right. The UE10s handled it the best of all the IEMs I've tried, but the Westone 3s came close, very close.

But in most IEMs theres a very VERY closed feeling that really impacts a classical music listen....the soundstage can only be so big....even with full size headphones the sound stage can only be so big.........but the IE8 has an sound stage and imaging ability that somehow is significantly wider and more three dimensional.

If you take any above IEM that I've mentioned and compare it to the IE8 I would bet that you will agree it handles sound imaging a bit more naturally than any other IEM mentioned. Whether this is of drastic importance to you I don't know........the frequency response of the SE530, W3, Triple Fis are all very desirable to different people........probably preferable over the IE8 in some cases to some ears. There is no definitive choice......BUT whereas I feel it is safe to say some people will prefer the 530 for its laid back approach, some people will prefer the W3s for its luscious sound and sparkle, and some will love the Triple Fi's for its relative neutrality.........no one will prefer any of those three IEMs to the IE8 in terms of sound stage and imaging